The present invention pertains generally to medical laser systems and, more particularly, the invention relates to the transmission and delivery of therapeutic radiant energy from two or more energy sources to a tissue site with the transmission and delivery being conducted along a common optical pathway. The invention also includes a laser catheter having a single optical pathway capable of transmitting therealong multiple wavelength of therapeutic laser energy for delivery to a worksite.
Current laser surgery is limited by a physician's inability to tailor the dosimetry of a conventional laser to the particular clinical application of interest. One procedure, for example, such as a tonsillectomy, requires a degree of precise cutting but such a procedure is also vascular in nature and requires coagulation. Another procedure, as an example in the other extreme, is a completely avascular procedure, such as bone or meniscal surgery, which requires no coagulation. Presently, to accomplish cutting and coagulation through use of medical laser technology, a physician uses laser energy of different wavelengths delivered to the worksite along different pathways. Commonly, the physician will utilize independent laser sources and deliver the laser energy along two or more optical paths as, for example, through use of a plurality of catheters, articulated arms or hollow waveguides.
Clearly, there exists a need for a surgical tool, such as an electrocautery unit, which provides the physician with a simple, accurate means to precisely select the right combination of laser dosimetries to be able to adjust the coagulating and cutting capability of the laser for energy delivery to a tissue site through a single delivery system. Accordingly, I have invented a medical system which uses multiple wavelengths of therapeutic radiant energy for delivery along a common optical path to allow a physician to precisely incise, vaporize, anastomose and coagulate both hard and soft tissues during surgery through the use of a single delivery system.